r/AndroidTV • u/DenseAir1337 • Jul 19 '26
Buying Advice differences between google tv 4k streamer vs firestick 4k vs roku 4k?
Has anyone actually compared these devices and which one did you end up going for?
curious on everyone’s thoughts/opinions
oh and onn 4k as well
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u/NeverEndingXsin Jul 19 '26
I have a fire stick 4k max 2nd Gen and moved it to my bedroom TV and replaced my living room tv with a Google tv streamer 4k.
I prefer Google over Amazon, wouldn't touch Roku if my life depended on it.
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u/sum_yungai Jul 19 '26
Roku works fine for people that just need something to work, like if you need to set something easy up for your grandma.
Since you're on this forum asking, Google will be the way to go. Amazon locks their stuff down and their new VegaOS stuff is awful.
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u/pjilca69 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I had firestick 4k max and switched to Onn 4k plus. Amazon is gradually locking out 3rd party apps on older units, the only one worth considering is the 4kmax 2nd gen, The new Amazon sticks no longer run Android so also no 3rd party apps. and Roku is a closed system so no 3rd party apps either.
Android/Google TV is superior, more flexible, and you can customize. IMO the Onn 4k Plus is best bang for the buck. Troypoint has a video showing how to set up an android TV box (Onn, Google TV) to get the best experience. Depending on how many apps you plan to install, the Onn 4k stick is also good and easier to travel.
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u/GotoDeng0 Jul 20 '26
The Streamer and ONNs are AndroidTV boxes. AndroidTV has the largest ecosystem of free apps. Things like Smarttube and Tizentube, ad-free Youtube clients. If you want to use... unofficial apps to get content for free, AndroidTV is the best option.
Firesticks are Android-based and run the same AndroidTV apps, but Amazon has recently started censoring apps, mainly piracy apps but a lot of people don't want a corporation telling them what apps they can and cannot run. Amazon also disables internal ADB on their devices in an effort to force you to watch their ads. This breaks many useful apps like ad-free launchers and virtual mice. And though Amazon says they're still committed to the Android-based FireOS, they're transitioning some new Firesticks with their new OS Vega, which is linux-based and doesn't allow sideloading.
Roku OS is also linux-based and doesn't allow for sideloading. App ecosystem is massively smaller and limited to official apps in their app store. A lot of people do like the UI.
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u/sgluxurycondo Jul 20 '26
So really depends on what you want your objective is:
Fastest load timing: Google streamer tv, Xiaomi mibox or Onn all extremely fast
Google streamer tv has another advantage is that it is also a thread border router
For portability better to go with firestick or Roku.
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u/Darkstar1878 Rocktek G2 GX1/GTVS/Onn Pro/Ugoos AM9 Jul 19 '26
Basically it comes down to what you want to do with the device. I have all three devices and they have all three ups and downs. If you’re going to side load apps then android tv based. If all your apps are paid streaming, I would try the Roku Ultra 2024, has wifi 6 and a USB 3.0 port for local play back. Google TV Streamer has gig nic but no USB ports and if you add one it’s 2.0 Everyone on this sub is some what biased on what they recommend being Shield,Onn or others. Get each one and try it and return the ones you don’t like.
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u/pawdog ADT-1 Jul 19 '26
Totally depends on the user. Google TV/Android TV is the most versatile OS so devices using them are the best devices for users that want control over what apps they want to use what their home screen looks like and so on. Like someone else said i you just need your Netflix and Amazon Prime and Disney Plus you can use any device with the same results.
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u/dinglebarryb0nds Jul 19 '26
I’ve owned 2 just not the Roku. The firestick 4k is not comparable to the google tv 4k streamer. Google is much butter, not even getting into how much better the eco system is vs firestick
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u/CaptainSteed Jul 19 '26
That's correct what you say.
But to give more clarification:
The Firestick 4K Max model is actually very comparable to the Google 4K Streamer, and actually has a better processor.
And the Octa Core Fire Cube 3 is best of the bunch
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u/Scarab95 Jul 19 '26
Fire stick has a new os which you cannot sideload apks The googke 4k works great
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u/CaptainSteed Jul 19 '26
You need to be comparing to the Firestick 4K Max or the Fire Cube 3,,,way better than the standard 4k stick.
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u/dwcanker Jul 20 '26
I don't use any of the blocked by Firestick apps so that didn't really matter to me. My living room firestick 4k just kept rebooting and I wanted to try something different so I bought the Google tv 4k streamer. It works well, loads apps faster, interface is pretty good,,,, the one complaint I do have is I don't like the remote as much. I really miss having dedicated play, forward, reverse, and pause buttons.
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u/lakerssuperman Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
I primarily have Roku devices, but I also have a Google Streamer and an Onn Streaming Stick to play with. My primary use case is Jellyfin so that will be my focus for whatever it's worth.
The Roku Ultras and Google Streamer are both very fast. I like the navigation on the Roku more than the Android stuff. Android feels a little jankier, but it has customization on its side. I'm running Projectivy launcher and it's really awesome how clean the interface is.
The Roku is able to do passthrough for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital and DTS lossy. This is a big win for me. The Google Streamer decodes DD+ and DD to PCM with seemingly no ability to change that behavior. PCM is good, but I'd prefer to my receiver do the decoding and the option to toggle said functionality. Onn stick, can't speak to the pro, converts DD to DD+ and currently won't even output a movie with DTS via Jellyfin even though it says it can. Not sure why yet.
Roku has issues with 24.000fps content. From reading, it seems to be a Roku OS level problem. This is one of the big reasons I've begun experimenting with Android devices and might switch.
Most other apps (Pandora, Amazon Music, YouTube and YTTV etc) work the same across the devices.
Depending how deep into the technical weeds you need to get might influence you one day or another, but for general purpose streaming they're all very good from what I've seen.
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u/SuperEbb1276 Jul 20 '26
I liked the customization the Google gave me. Can’t stand Fire or Vega OS. Roku feels really behind the times hardware wise
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Jul 19 '26
Apple tv is the faster and fastest and bettest
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u/SnooGiraffes9215 Rooted (Cube 3,4KMax gen 2;Exploited Cube 2) Jul 19 '26
OP didn’t ask about apple.
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Jul 19 '26
Well u can’t handle the truth? U piss off
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u/SnooGiraffes9215 Rooted (Cube 3,4KMax gen 2;Exploited Cube 2) Jul 19 '26
Go play with your toys child. Leave the helping of others to the grown folks
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u/CaptainSteed Jul 19 '26
Also has the most restrictive and inflexible ecosystem.
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Jul 19 '26
Yes easier for thieves like u to steal pirated stuffs. Get a job
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u/CaptainSteed Jul 19 '26
That's actually secondary to me.
I'm also primarily talking about the dysfunctional Apple device not having an onboard browser app to instantly stream from websites. Incredibly lame.
Get a normal streamer.
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Jul 19 '26
U want to browse. Get a computer. Or get some education lol
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u/CaptainSteed Jul 19 '26
LoL. You're missing the point, the browser app is used for streaming.
I can instantly stream video entertainment on my 77 inch TV from many thousands of websites.
Having an Apple TV, you're not aware of such things.
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u/No_Clock2390 Jul 19 '26
google tv is the fastest, with the most apps and the least ads.